Couple finds #BuckeyeLove on the Mansfield Campus

It was the first class on her very first day of freshman year at The Ohio State University at Mansfield when Allie Squires Burns (class of ’14) met her future husband Nate Burns (class of ’14).

Allie remembers that day fondly, “There we were. We didn’t sit next to each other or even talk to each other at first, but I remember him strolling in…HE WAS LATE!” The two began talking and building a friendship. They began dating at the end of freshman year. Allie says, “I think we both knew pretty darn fast that we were in it for the long haul.”

Several years and dates later, Nate was ready to pop the question. “I took Allie to Cheddars in Ontario, which was the site of our first date. After lunch, I drove her to the campus and convinced her to walk with me to the bridge connecting campus to the path that takes you to the apartments.” He laughs, “She didn’t want to get out of the car at first – typical Allie, being difficult.”

And then the big question came. He got down on one knee and popped the question. What Allie didn’t know was that their immediate family members, along with Allie’s grandparents, were hiding in the woods so they could share the moment with the happy couple.

Nate says he chose the Ohio State Mansfield campus to propose, particularly the bridge behind Ovalwood, because it was where the couple first met after class. Nate’s dad had also proposed to his mom on a bridge, and Nate wanted to keep that tradition alive.

When the couple got married in June 2016 they chose to incorporate their Buckeye Pride into their wedding with cookies, ice sculptures, and even scarlet and gray pom-poms.

As Allie thinks back on that time, she says, “NOT incorporating Ohio State into our wedding would have been an option. It’s what brought us together!”

For the couple their #BuckeyeLove and their love for Ohio State Mansfield will go on forever!

Nate says, “I love Ohio State Mansfield because it brought me to my wife. It was also the beginning of my college life, which ended with me receiving a degree from the best university in the world. The opportunities I have had since graduating are because of Ohio State Mansfield.”

#BuckeyeLove also runs strong in Allie’s family. She is one of nine family members who graduated from Ohio State spanning 114 years.